Embrace your baby belly and work it. When I was at my weird fat stage - the point where you’re unsure if I gained weight or if I’m pregnant, I was a little uncomfortable with my belly. I always hated my belly, thinking it was always a little on the bigger side of what I like. But with it growing even more and out of my control, I was sure I would hate the way I looked. And in all honesty, I don’t. I may make fun of my belly and say things like “I’m so fat now” but I know I’m fat for a good reason, I’m growing a little human inside me and if he needs more to grow! And I love that I’m growing with him and he’s becoming bigger and stronger every day.

You become more grateful. When I went to my first ultrasound and saw this little round ball on the screen, I was a little excited about growing a human but it didn’t really hit me until the second ultrasound. When I went for my second one, Iz came with me and as soon as we saw Baby D.K. with a head, arms and legs, it was just life-changing. I don’t think I ever saw Iz as excited as he was that day. And every ultrasound since that point has brought more and more joy into our lives. And it makes me more grateful every day to be alive and to have such a wonderful life with a loving husband and amazing family and friends.

Sleep as much as you can. Sometimes I feel REALLY guilty when I nap throughout the day. My naps can range from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours! And I know, that sounds like a waste of my day but hey, I’m growing a fricken human inside me. So please, let me regain some of my energy while Baby D.K. is taking some of mine to grow! I do hate that I feel like I take away quality time with Iz, especially when he’s working a shift and we don’t have any days off together in a 2-week span but he’s been the most understanding person and just lets me sleep - with a limit. Most of my naps are not allowed to be over 3 hours, which is understandable because, at that point, it’s really just a waste of my day. And really, after that amazing (most likely 2-hour) nap, I have enough energy to get stuff done - take photos, clean the house, spend time with my dogs and most importantly, spend quality time with Iz.

Buy those maternity pants. This is something that is still on my to-do list but I need to get on it ASAP. I thought I could get by wearing dresses until Baby D.K. was born because I didn’t want to waste my money on clothes I would only wear a for a few months, but I was 100% wrong. I forget how cold winter’s get in Edmonton and now that I’m pregnant; I seem to get 10x colder than usual. When I try to wear pants that I already own, either my belly just starts to feel constricted by the end of the day or they slide down to an uncomfortable height on my hips where they feel like they’re just going fall off at any moment. So please, do yourself the favour and buy those maternity pants.

There’s not just one person who’s going to have a baby. Iz and I are in this together and I think sometimes people forget that it took 2 people to make Baby D.K.. I feel like a lot of people ask how I’m doing and forget there’s also another person who is going to be on this journey with me. I always like to incorporate Iz if anyone asks because Iz has put a lot into this pregnancy as well - he invested so much into house renovations to make sure that by the time Baby D.K. comes we don’t have to worry about it. He also is going to feel the pressure of raising a child and just because he’s not carrying our child, doesn’t mean he’s not going to be feeling as much as pressure as me. So let’s stop letting everyone else forget about our other half and make sure to always include them.

Six to Ten

Don’t get worked up by all the do’s and don’ts everyone is telling you. Sometimes it’s a bit much when I’m hearing “you should do this” or “you shouldn’t do that”. It becomes overwhelming and stressful, especially because Baby D.K. isn’t here just yet! It puts a lot of stress on me because I don’t want to raise my child to be terrible or raise him the “wrong” way. But I will never know the wrong way until it happens and I know at some point, it’s bound to happen. I’m bound to slip up somewhere and make a mistake. And at this stage, there is no point of getting stressed out on things that I can’t quite control yet! So I just nod my head and listen and hope when the time comes that Israel and I will make the right decision for Baby D.K..

No two pregnancies (before and after) will be the same. So taking a note from the point before, my pregnancy will never be exactly the same as someone else. I mean, some women are lucky and have no morning sickness at all. Some women can eat all they want and not worry about gestational diabetes mellitus. Some women can get pregnant instantly. And that might not be the case for me. No two people are the same so why should my pregnancy be the same as someone else? It shouldn’t! I mean, I had terrible morning sickness, I actually thought at some point I was going to die. And I have my gestational diabetes mellitus testing soon and I’ve been eating like a little piggy so, in all honesty, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did have it (not saying that I’m okay with having it, I would LOVE to leave that appointment knowing darn well I didn’t have it). But I mean, this journey is going to be completely different than someone else and as much as people love to tell their stories and their experiences or let me know what I should feel or look like at some point, I’m probably just going to nod my head and listen, and that’s it.

Put yourself first. I’m the type of person who hates saying no to someone. I always feel like I’ll be letting some down if I do. But being pregnant, it changes things. I can’t always get up and do favours or go above and beyond as much as I would like and that’s okay. And that’s okay. I have to learn to start thinking about myself and Baby D.K. because, in reality, I’m not going to be able to just get up and leave to do a favour for someone when I have Baby D.K.. He’s going to come first and that’s that!

Stop stress out about things like the nursery. This I just realized - we went to a work event with Iz’ co-worker and started talking about Baby D.K. and his nursery and someone metioned to us to not even stress about because one, he’s not going to be in that room for at least the first 6 months and two, we’re probably going to want to change it up to be more practical than how it looks aesthetically, which is probably 100% true. But knowing Iz, he’s still going to want to design Baby D.K.‘s room because that’s what he loves doing, designing and making our home a masterpiece!

Being pregnant is a gift. Not everyone can get pregnant. Some people need a little extra help, like IVF or a surrogate. And even then, sometimes that’s not even an option. So be grateful if you happen to fall into this journey because there are some women out there who would give anything to get pregnant and be a mother.

I just realized I haven’t even posted a photo of Baby D.K. on my blog but we do have our 2nd 3D ultrasound this weekend, maybe be out on the lookout for some of photos or head over to my Instagram and check some of them out on the Stories!

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